Sole-cutting die



T. W. BILELLO.

SOLE CUTTING DIE.

APPLICATION HLED FEB. 14, 1917.

1,343,383. Patented June 15, 1920.

entree stares earner ser es.

, ,THOMAS w. BILELLO, or LONG rsnenn own new roan, nssrenois, BY Mam ASSIGNMENTS' TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY. v V o i SOLE-CUTTING DIE.

Specification of Letters Patent. 5 Patented une15,1920.

Application filed February 14, 1917. Serial No. 148,601.

and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Sole-CuttingDies, of

which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawingsindicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to improvements-in 'Wlll be best understood and appreciated from the 'following description of a pre-- dies for cutting sheet material and more particularly to dies such as those intended for cutting out the soles of boots and shoes from sole leather. Dies for this use are extremely heavy and their manipulation is fatiguing work for the operator.

Various attempts have been made heretofore to facilitate the handling of steel dies, for example it has been proposed to secure metallic flanges about the upper edge of the die or to corrugate. its outer surface. While these expedients have proved more or less helpiful'they have still left much to be deslre The present invention contemplates im-' provements designed further to relieve the operator and to eliminate a serious objection to which all dies heretofore known have been open, viz., the chilling and numbing of the operators hands occasioned by the necessity of grasping firmly and continuously the cold metal surface of the die. The work of a'sole cutting operator is at best a hazardousoccupation and in spite of all the precautions heretofore taken the loss of an operators finger occurs all too frequently. This danger is intensified under conditions when the dies are very cold so that the oper'ators hands become thoroughly chilled.

As herein shown it is proposed to secure to the outer surface of the die material which will afford a warm, clinging, pleasant surface to be grasped. Preferably the material of the covering is so molded as to afford outwardly projecting lifting surfaces arranged to overlie the thumb and forefinger and extending at its lower edge into proximity to the cutting edge of the die, thereby being interposed completely between the metallic walls of the die and the hands of the operator.

In addition to the advantages above discussed, the provision of gripping material such as has been described permits considerable saving in the finishing operations upon the die, in that it is no longer necessary to smooth and shape the outer surface andflange of the die where the die is to be grasped, the attached gripping material covering all such irregularities. In fact, these are of utility in that they cooperate with the molded plastic covering to retain it against displacement.

These and'other features of 'the invention ferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the ac 'companying drawings, in whichi :die; v

Fig. 2 1s a vlew of the die in cross sec- .tion, and

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of a portion of the molded coveringmaterial.

"Figure -1 isa view-in perspective of a-sole The die shown in Fig. l comprisesa sole shaped frame, having its upper'edge fiattened to receive the pressure of thepress in which the die is to'be used; and a lower sharpened cutting edge 4;. The inner wall of the die is substantially-vertical but affording a slight clearance. Secured to the' toe and heel ends of-the die'are flanges 8 and 1 0, gen

erally triangularin cross-section and'with their outer and downwardly disposed surfaces concaved. The flanges 8 and 10 are disposed slightly below the pressure receiving edge of the die and aresecured in place by brazing or riveting. I

In the illustrated diea sheet or'band'12 of rubber or rubber composition is shown as molded upon the outer surface of the die being secured thereto by vulcanizing or cementing. The band 12 is molded not only to fit the configuration of the walls of the die but also to follow the concave contour of the flanges 8 and 10. The concave molded portion of the band 14: is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. At its upper edge the band extends flush ing surface adjacent to its'upper edge which Will overlie the thumb and forefinger of the operators hand while at the same time the lower portion of the band is interposed between the operators hands and the wall of the die. WVhile it is advantageous in a small die that the band 12 shall extend continuously above the die, it will be apparent that in many cases the band need not extend farther than the ends of the flanges 8 and 10. It is further within the scope of the invention to omit the metallic flanges entirely if tion.

so desired in which case it would be necessary merely that the molded portion 1a of the band should be stiff enough to support the weight of the die. Rubber or rubber composition is the best material now known to me for use as the material of the band but any other plastic compound or. material such as cork having the desired characteristics may be used within the scope of. the inven- Havingthus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates'is:

1. A cutting die having a piece of sheet rubber secured to its outer surface between its pressure receiving and cutting edges and furnishing an unbroken surface to retain the grasp of the operator. I

2. A cutting die' having' plastic material molded on its outer surface and extending from adjacent to the pressure receiving edge of the die, into proximity toits cutting edge, and terminating there in a beveled surface.

3. A sole cutting die comprising 'a soleshaped frame having one edge sharpened for cutting and the other flattened to receive 1 pressure, metallic flanges projecting outwardly from the sides of the die below its pressure receiving edge, and a broad continuous band of rubber secured to the outer surface of the die and concavely curved beneath the metallic flanges.

4. A sole cutting die having projecting flanges at its ends disposed adjacent to its upper edge, yielding plastic material secured to the outer face of the die, covering the lower surfaces of the flanges and extending into proximity tothe cutting edge of the die. 7

5. A sole cutting die having projecting flanges with concave. lower surfaces, and yielding plastic material secured to the outer face of the die and being molded to the concave surfaces of the flanges, said plastic -material extending continuously from the operator and having secured upon the surface by which it is grasped an unbroken layer of a heat insulating substance tending to adhere to the hands of the operator.

8. A die having an unfinished surface,

and a covering of a plastic material upon said surface cooperating with the irregularities thereof.

9. A die having an irregular surface, and

a layer of rubber molded upon said surface H in engagement with its irregularities.

10. A die adapted for manipulation by an operator and having irregularities upon the surface over which it is grasped, and a layer of a heat insulating plastic material engaging the irregularities of the surface and tending to adhere to the hands of the operator. I Y i j 11. A die having a wall by which it may be grasped when in action and including a considerable mass of metal, said wall during the use of the die extending generally in a vertical direction and being formed at, its lower portion with a cuttingedge and at its upper portion with a pressure-receiving surface, and yieldable heat-insulating material carried by the die wall and furnishing an unbroken layer between its metaland the hands of the operator, thereby preventing them from becoming numb by the absorption of heat by the mass of metal and slip ping above the pressure-receiving surface.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

I THOMAS W. BILELLO. .7 

